A virtual G20 summit — but it offered genuine reassurance
A virtual G20 summit — but it offered genuine reassurance/node/1648581/business-economy
A virtual G20 summit — but it offered genuine reassurance
Sign of the times: World leaders take part in a virtual G20 summit called by Saudi Arabia to discuss the coronavirus crisis. The forum vowed to ‘do whatever it takes’ to combat the pandemic. (AFP)
A virtual G20 summit — but it offered genuine reassurance
Saudi Arabia, host of this year's G20 Summit, called the event on short notice as the COVID-19 crisis threatens the global economy
Updated 28 March 2020
Frank Kane
DUBAI: It is a good sign when the G20 produces its traditional communique within minutes of the formal close of a summit of world leaders.
It means there was genuine and broad agreement on the issues under discussion, and that there were no tricky last-minute “accommodations” to be made to the text, which is intended to signify unity and consensus.
So it was at the extraordinary virtual G20 held under the auspices of the Saudi Arabian presidency on Thursday. Within minutes of King Salman officially closing the 90-minute meeting, the communique was ready to show the world that the leaders of the most powerful countries on earth were determined and united in their efforts to tackle the coronavirus and mitigate its impact on the global economy.
The summit was extraordinary in several respects. It was called by Saudi Arabia at short notice and months ahead of the scheduled event, slated for Riyadh in November. Only twice before — in the two years at the height of the global financial crisis — have there been more than one G20 summit in a year.
It was extraordinary, too, because it was conducted via digital technology, rather than the big physical stage events of all past G20s. In a sign of the times, the technicalities of connecting 20 global leaders online proved less challenging than physically flying them to one place. The virus is proving the value of the digital age.
But it was also extraordinary in a more fundamental sense, because it sought to address a situation that would have been unthinkable just a few weeks ago. The fact of tens of thousands of deaths, and the fastest economic decline in in modern history, has concentrated minds in an extraordinary way.
There was no formal agenda for the summit, but with the pressing medical and economic challenges in the world, there was no need for one. The leaders focused exclusively on these two issues.
On the health emergency, there was understandable consensus around the need to do “whatever it takes” to combat the virus, which the G20 said was its “absolute priority.”
There was also enthusiastic agreement that only international cooperation could achieve this, with full backing given to the World Health Organization, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness and Innovation, and Gavi, the vaccine alliance, as the front-line agencies against the virus. “The virus respects no borders,” the G20 said, in a reaffirmation of the globalist ethos that has been under real challenge in recent years.
On the economic effects, the headline grabbing number was $5 trillion — the amount pledged by G20 members so far as an injection into the global economy via fiscal, economic and credit initiatives to counteract the recession into which the world has been plunged.
The hope is that this injection — and whatever extra may come in future injections — will prevent the recession from turning into a 1930s-style depression with all the profound human, social, and geopolitical ramifications that would bring. Time — and the financial markets — will tell whether this will be enough.
Given that the virtual summit was organized by Saudi Arabia, some geopoliticians had hoped that the leaders would also be able to agree an energy policy for the world at a time of acute stress in oil and gas markets. The pressure had been building from the US before the event to have some resolution on energy in the final communique.
The leaders resisted this pressure. In the end the words “oil” and “energy” were nowhere to be found in the 1,500-word document. Some concerned energy experts took comfort from a general commitment by the G20 to “work to resolve disruptions to the global supply chains,” though that was the least that could be expected.
When the leaders pressed the “leave meeting” buttons on their screens, they could reflect on a job well done. The world wanted reassurance and unity from the G20 leaders. That is what it got.
Fresh funding flows in even as broader market data points to a slowdown
Updated 20 December 2025
Nour El-Shaeri
RIYADH: Startup funding activity across the Middle East and North Africa delivered a mixed picture over the past week, with fresh capital flowing into gaming, fintech, deep tech, and travel, even as broader market data pointed to a slowdown in overall investment momentum.
Saudi Arabia’s Impact46 led a $1 million investment round in Hypemasters, an international game development studio focused on competitive strategy experiences for mobile. The round included participation from GEM Capital.
Hypemasters develops strategy titles designed for competitive depth and precise game mechanics and has attracted more than 7 million players globally.
The studio is currently advancing several new projects, including a title in soft launch, as it looks to expand its reach in markets with sustained demand for strategy games.
“Strategy is one of the most demanding categories in game development, and Hypemasters approaches it with uncommon discipline. Their work shows a clear understanding of what committed players expect from this genre, and we believe their upcoming titles can serve a global audience with genuine depth,” said Basmah Al-Sinaidi, managing partner at Impact46.
“We are pleased to support a team that builds with intention and long-term ambition,” she added.
Boris Kalmykov, CEO and co-founder of Hypemasters, said: “We’re focused on deepening our presence across the region and pushing forward with the next generation of strategy games, including a major new title already in soft launch. Partnering with Impact46 marks an important step for Hypemasters.”
The CEO added that Impact46 shares his company’s long-term vision for building “world-class strategy games” from the MENA region, and the support reinforces his firm’s commitment to expanding its portfolio with high-quality releases.
The investment reflects Impact46’s continued interest in game development and interactive entertainment and aligns with its broader strategy of backing studios building globally oriented titles.
Premialab raises $220m
UAE-headquartered Premialab, a provider of data, analytics, and risk management solutions for quantitative investing, has raised $220 million in a growth investment led by KKR, with participation from existing investor Balderton.
Founded in Hong Kong in 2016 by Adrien Geliot and Pierre Trecourt, Premialab operates a global platform serving the $800 billion quantitative investment strategies market.
Counterfeits don’t just impact economies; they erase identity, creativity and truth. Along with our investors, we’re building a movement to make the world’s stories verifiable again.
Walid Tarabih, founder and CEO of Relik
The company provides benchmarking, performance analysis, and risk analytics tools for institutional investors.
The funding will be used to support global expansion, strengthen core operational systems, and scale Premialab’s execution product, which was developed in partnership with Eurex, to broaden access to quantitative investment strategies.
“Quantitative investment strategies have grown rapidly in scale and importance, yet the market has lacked a truly independent standard for data, analytics and risk. Premialab was built to fill that gap,” said Adrien Geliot, CEO of Premialab.
Relik closes seed round
UAE-based Relik has closed a seed funding round with participation from KBW Ventures, Naatt Holding, Fort Holding, and Ayman Sejiny.
Founded in 2023 by Walid Tarabih and later joined by John Tsioris, Relik is an artificial intelligence-powered authentication platform designed to help collectors, brands, and marketplaces.
The company plans to use the funding to roll out additional products and expand across sectors including sports, luxury, and heritage markets.
“We are ensuring authenticity in a fakeable world,” said Walid Tarabih, founder and CEO of Relik, adding: “Counterfeits don’t just impact economies; they erase identity, creativity and truth. Along with our investors, we’re building a movement to make the world’s stories verifiable again.”
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal Al-Saud, founder and CEO of KBW Ventures, said: “Relik is creating a new global standard for truth and trust. At a time when counterfeiting and AI-generated content are rising, Relik’s mission to protect authenticity carries both cultural and commercial value.”
Nawah raises $23m
Egypt-based deep tech startup Nawah Scientific has raised $23 million in a series A round comprising a mix of equity and debt, marking a decade since the company’s founding.
The round was led by Life Ventures Holding, with participation from Den Ventures, Empire M, AfricInvest, Elsewedy, as well as banks and angel investors.
Founded in 2015 by Omar Saqr, Nawah operates a cloud laboratory model that enables remote access to advanced testing services. (Supplied)
Founded in 2015 by Omar Saqr, Nawah operates a cloud laboratory model that enables remote access to advanced testing services. Its operations span four business units covering life sciences, food and agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and certified reference materials.
The company plans to use the funding to build a global research and development center in Rwanda, double laboratory capacity in Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and expand into North Africa and Europe.
Algeria’s VOLZ raises $5m
Algeria-based travel tech startup VOLZ has raised $5 million in a series A funding round led by a consortium of private investors under Tell Group, with participation from Groupe GIBA.
Founded in 2023 by Mohamed Abdelhadi and Hacene Seghier, VOLZ enables travelers to book flights in Algerian dinars using online payments or cash on delivery, while comparing multiple airlines through a single platform.
Announced at the African Startup Conference in December, the transaction is Algeria’s largest startup funding round in local currency and marks the first exit of the Algerian Startup Fund.
The capital will be used to launch new consumer and corporate travel products, strengthen VOLZ’s position in Algeria, and support expansion across North and West Africa.
MENA startup funding slows in November
Investment activity across the MENA startup ecosystem slowed sharply in November 2025, with 35 startups raising a combined $227.8 million, according to Wamda’s monthly report.
This marked a steep decline from the $784.9 million recorded in the previous month and a 12 percent drop compared to November 2024, pointing to a period of consolidation as investors moderated deployment toward the end of the year.
More than half of the capital raised during the month was driven by a single debt-backed transaction by erad, which propelled Saudi Arabia to the top of the regional rankings. Across 14 deals, the Kingdom attracted $176.3 million, accounting for more than three-quarters of all capital deployed in November.
Despite funding activity spanning 35 startups, capital was concentrated in just 5 markets. After Saudi Arabia’s dominant lead, the UAE followed with $49 million across 14 transactions.
Egypt recorded $1.12 million across 4 deals, while Morocco raised $1.1 million through 2 transactions. Oman saw 1 deal with an undisclosed value, with limited activity reported outside these markets.
Fintech emerged as the most funded sector in November, raising $142.9 million across 9 deals, largely influenced by the same debt-driven transaction.
E-commerce followed with $24.5 million across 6 rounds, while property tech, which topped the charts in October, slipped to 3rd with $18.9 million raised by 3 startups.
Debt financing dominated the month, accounting for more than $125 million through a single transaction.
The remaining capital was largely channelled into early-stage startups, with no later-stage funding rounds recorded in November, underscoring continued investor caution.
From a business model perspective, B2B startups captured the majority of capital, with 20 companies raising $197.1 million.
B2C startups lagged, with 9 companies raising a combined $22.2 million, while the remainder was split across hybrid models.
The gender funding gap showed no signs of narrowing, with male-led startups absorbing 97 percent of the capital raised during the month. Female-led and mixed-gender founding teams accounted for the remaining share.
